Researching how nuclear power can be used to support “settlements” on the moon is the latest undertaking for scientists and engineers working for luxury car company Rolls-Royce.
The British Space Agency awarded Rolls-Royce $3.5 million to explore ways to boost lunar settlements in the future.
The company was asked to show how micronuclear reactors could extend the period of future missions to the Moon, according to the BBC.
The government said the deal would boost Britain’s space industry and create skilled jobs.
The British Space Agency said it wanted to provide a new energy source to support communications systems, life support and scientific experiments on the moon.
Comments from UK Space Agency CEO Paul Batey
- “We support the technology and capabilities to support ambitious space exploration missions and to fuel the growth of the sector in Britain.”
- “The development of space nuclear energy provides a unique opportunity to support innovative technologies and grow our nuclear, science and space engineering skills base.”
- “This innovative research by (Rolls-Royce) can lay the foundation for enhancing a continued human presence on the Moon, while boosting Britain’s wider space sector, creating jobs and generating further investment,” according to Sky News Arabia.
Plan and launch date
- Rolls-Royce has said it wants to have a reactor ready to be sent to the moon by 2029.
- The company will work with the Universities of Oxford, Bangor and Brighton, the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Center and the Nuclear Centre.
- “Space exploration is the ultimate laboratory for many of the transformative technologies we need on Earth, from materials to robotics, nutrition, clean technology and much more,” said George Freeman, Secretary of State in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
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